Prof Mike Abernethy is one of the longest serving flight physicians in the world today. He is a bit of a legend in his own lifetime. There is something about Mike’s story that reminds me of the golden age of flying, all glamour, sharp suits and Eero Saarinen’s fabulous TWA terminal at the JFK International Airport.

Maybe it’s his dashing good looks, maybe it’s his dress sense or maybe it’s his part time gig as a TV star!

In truth Mike is too young to have been swanning around when flying was still stylish. He is too young in all sorts of ways. He gets on like a kid. He has a child’s enthusiasm for what he does. He is an example to us all.

Mike has spent his life involved in what most of us consider a risky business and for laughs he spends his spare time involved in something most of us consider even riskier; messing with the mass media. Mike has appeared on the semi-reality show “Untold Stories of the ER”. So what was that like?

How do his peers view all this? I know more than a few of them do take the piss. Mike’s ability to laugh along with those that tease him is a bit like a secret super power.